MELAKA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has asked the teaching fraternity to give him time to look into increasing their allowances in tandem with the effort to strengthen the education sector.

He said raising the allowance of teachers is a priority to him but it depends on the nation’s revenue collections.

“To increase the allowances of teachers and civil servants is of utmost importance to me.

“The revenue generated (by the country), especially with resilient economic growth in the first quarter of 2023 and the savings my administration has made by reviewing several projects approved by the previous government, will be returned back to the rakyat.

“Give me some time to fulfil this, but do not ask for it now,” he said when launching the 2023 national Teachers Day celebration, themed “Guru Insani Pemangkin Generasi Madani” at Melaka International Trade Centre here on Tuesday (May 16).

Anwar also asked the stakeholders in the Education and Finance Ministries to ensure that there would not be any disruptions in the efforts to repair dilapidated schools nationwide

He said he has instructed the two ministries to fast-track the repair works on these schools without any administrative hassles.

The Prime Minister also questioned why some students were attending classes without basic facilities, such as toilets, when the country had experienced impressive economic growth.

In February, Anwar, who is also the Finance Minister, announced that the government will prioritise repairing dilapidated schools across the country.

The Education Ministry had identified 289 dilapidated schools in Sabah alone, with 64 deemed to be unsafe by the Works Department.